Seriously Silly cover art

Seriously Silly

The Life of Terry Jones (the authorised biography)

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Seriously Silly

By: Robert Ross
Narrated by: Eric Idle, Robert Ross
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About this listen

 'This book is timely. I hope it will send people back to his work, whether it be films he's directed, roles he's played . . . and everything else that made him everybody's favourite polymath'
Michael Palin

Seriously Silly is an intimate portrait of Terry Jones - Python, actor, director, historian, reluctant national treasure and purveyor of sincere silliness - written by the man he chose to tell the story of his life.

From his Welsh upbringing in Colwyn Bay, to meeting his lifelong friend Michael Palin at Oxford through revue sketches, anarchic children's shows and the creative genius of Monty Python, this is the story of a comedy legend. Throughout this journey, Terry's extraordinary determination and resilience shine through, not least in his final years as he battled with dementia.

Written by his close friend Robert Ross, with a foreword from Michael Palin (and the blessing of and cooperation of his family and the people who knew him best) Seriously Silly is not only the definitive celebration of a true pioneer of comedy, but a loving portrayal of the man behind the laughter.©2025 Robert Ross (P)2025 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Celebrity Comedy Biography

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All stars
Most relevant
I have been looking forward to this book, thinking that it would be a natural progression from Michael Palin’ wonderful diaries. Palin talks about his time with Jones with affection and I wanted to know more about the man. The reading of the book (by the author) is atrocious. There are a number of repeated errors - wiry instead of wry (Jones gave a ‘wiry’ smile), je de vivre instead of joie de vivre. There are simply too many silly errors. Having listened to this book directly after Michael Palin’s books, I find myself listening to a very poor effort. While the content is not bad, the whole experience is marred by the amateur way the book is read. In Michael Palin’s book, the affection for Terry Jones is palpable - here not so. It is a sad offering for such a great man.

A lost opportunity

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Well researched labour of love. Written by someone who knew Terry Jones over many years.

Moving tribute

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Although the book amounts to an affectionate and knowledgeable portrait of a complex comedy genius, this is a classic case of the often-encountered need to keep the audio version away from the author. Just because you can write a book doesn’t mean you can read it. The result is a fairly tortuous 14-hour listen, full of mispronounced words and titles, and with the overall manner of an eager but ultimately rather dull secondary school teacher. It’s almost worth a credit though, for the three minutes or so of deeply affectionate tribute voiced by Eric Idle and dropped into the middle.

Disappointing as an audio book

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